Please choose one question to answer. I would prefer that you write a short essay of no fewer than 3 double-spaced spaced pages. There is no page max. By essay, I just mean a thesis which makes an argument as opposed to a bland report. Make sure to reference at least one reading and/or video in the answer. Any established referencing style is totally fine!
Readings
Huntington, Samuel P. “The clash of civilizations?.” In Culture and politics, pp. 99-118. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2000.
http://ringmar.net/mycourses/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Huntington-1993-The-Clash-of-Civilizations.pdfLinks to an external site.
Wood, Graeme. ” What ISIS really wants.” The Atlantic315, no. 2 (2015): 78-94.
http://picpimp.net/BestPosts/ISIS.pdfLinks to an external site.
Walter, Barbara F. “The Extremist’s Advantage in Civil Wars.” International Security 42, no. 2 (2017): 7-39.
untitled (silverchair.com)Links to an external site.
Abrahms, Max, Jonathan Leader Maynard, and Kai Thaler. “Correspondence: Ideological Extremism in Armed Conflict.” International Security 43, no. 1 (2018): 186-190.
Correspondence: Ideological Extremism in Armed Conflict | International Security | MIT Press JournalsLinks to an external site.
Walter_Exchange_in_IS-libre.pdf (d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net)Links to an external site.
Chenoweth, Erica. “Democratic competition and terrorist activity.”The Journal of Politics 01 (2010): 16-30.
http://www.ericachenoweth.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/chenoweth.jop2010.pdfLinks to an external site.
Abrahms, Max. “Why democracies make superior counterterrorists.” Security Studies2 (2007): 223-253.
https://www.academia.edu/1593648/_Why_Democracies_Make_Superior_Counter
terrorists_Security_Studies_Vol._16_No._2_Spring_2007_
Joshua Keating, “More Than Half of the World’s Terrorist Attacks Happen
in Just Three Countries,” Slate, Dec. 2013
Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan: More than half of the world’s terrorist attacks happen in just three countries. (slate.com)
Videos
Presidential Address on Islamic State Threat, September 10, 2014 (stop at 2 minutes, 20 seconds)
http://www.c-span.org/video/?321398-2/presidential-address-islamic-state-threatLinks to an external site.
Donald Trump’s full terrorism speech (start at 30 min. mark)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hptE3ewkD4Links to an external site.

Religion and the history of terrorism – YouTubeLinks to an external site.
Reza Aslan: Bush Right about Democracy and Terrorism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtNq4rKaHfQLinks to an external site.
Questions (choose one)
How well does Walter rebut Wood about the role of religion in terrorism?
Why do democracies make superior counterterrorists?
Why do authoritarian governments make superior counterterrorists?